Fig is an acrostic for Faith in God from Mark 11:22. We as missionaries living in Japan enjoy our FIG in Japanese or In Nihon Go (ING). Here we are figing away in a beautiful country Japan. This started out as a place for family to get updates and pictures but now this goes all over the world. Praise God. May you be blessed as you read my posts. Some funny, some sad, & some really stupid and embarrassing for my family.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

END OF CIVILIZATION

Below is an article from CNN. The article is about a man who played a role playing game for ten years creating civilizations and growing them into nations. The outcome....is quite Biblical. There is no hope for mankind. He says in regards to the nations the only peace solution is to wipe out others, "It is this that perpetuates the war ad infinitum."

He also said the only Government that was plausible was a communistic one. Democracy failed to act when needed to. Like a game of Chess, this man played for 10 years and it is quite a fascinating read. There is one scenario that he did not think of and that was God intervening in mankind's fate. In Matthew, Jesus says, "And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be
saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened." I can't wait, yet I fear how much war and death must we endure until the Christ returns to save mankind from himself. (CNN) -- Can you imagine playing a single video game for 10 years?

One man did. And it helped him imagine something else: a bleak, war-ravaged future version of Earth.

The "Civilization"
franchise is a series of strategy games that allow players to grow small
tribes into large, sprawling nations. Players can manage resources,
build armies and engage in diplomacy in an effort to grow their
civilization into a world leader.

"Civilization II" was
released in 1996. But when the third version of the game was released in
2001, Lycerius said, he was already deep into his current game and
wanted to see how far he could go.

He doesn't play every day
but returns to what he called a "hellish nightmare of suffering and
devastation" when he has some free time.

Now in the year 3991, his
world is down to three super-nations, each competing for dwindling
resources, and a planet left scarred by multiple nuclear wars. His Celts
are locked in a 1,700-year war with the Vikings and the Americans. All
other nations have been destroyed or absorbed.

"Peace seems to be
impossible. Every time a cease fire is signed, the Vikings will surprise
attack me or the Americans the very next turn, often with nuclear
weapons," Lycerius wrote on Reddit. "Even when the U.N forces a peace
treaty. So I can only assume that peace will come only when they're
wiped out. It is this that perpetuates the war ad infinitum."

Because of the continual
fighting, he was forced to abandon his democracy and adopt a communist
state, because his Senate kept overruling him when he wanted to declare
war. Also, his cities are filled with starving people (90% of his
world's population died from nuclear annihilation or famine from global
warming) because, he says, he has to keep building war machines to
sustain his combat efforts.

"So you want a granary so you can eat? Sorry; I have to build another tank instead. Maybe next time," he wrote.

Constant nuclear
bombardment and sabotage have melted the world's ice caps over and over
again, resulting in the flooding of all terrain other than mountains. He
said his world is full of swamp (which is useless for farming) and
irradiated lands.

"Civilization" franchise
creator Sid Meier said developers never even thought about someone
taking a "Civ" game this far into the future.

"There's no way we could
have tested for this, so it was a surprise to us," Meier said. "I can't
say that we ever thought anyone would play a game of 'Civ' for that
long. It's exciting that a fan of the series would dedicate 10 years to
playing one continuous game."

Before you think Lycerius is just an unfeeling ruler, he said he does want to find a way to end the longstanding war.

"My goal for the next
few years is to try and end the war and thus use the engineers to clear
swamps and fallout so that farming may resume. I want to rebuild the
world. But I'm not sure how. "

He may not be sure how, but Jesus knows exactly what he will do. It is all laid out in the pages of the Bible. It is funny how generals and world leaders will do scenario play on the outcomes of wars and political take overs. They are shocked when they discovered the outcome they had been thinking of were already written about in the Word of God.

How do I support the Bolingers

We so desire prayer support. That is where the real battle lies. Our prayer is that you will partner with us in this venture of Faith and watch our God work a mighty work.

Donations? Please send an email to danbolinger@calvarychapel.com and we will respond with proper information. I know it is an extra step but if God has laid it on your heart great you know what to do. We just don't want to bear a Christian image that we always have our hand out. My God is not broke he owns the Universe.

Where is Iruma Saitama Japan

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Iruma is about an 40 minutes to an hour on an express train northwest of Tokyo. I hope you can check it out. Pray we get to know our neighbors and build relationships with them. Pray for the city of Iruma they so need Jesus here.